Just the Ten of Us
by crbmyenthusiasm
Summary: My fic for the shuffle challenge.


A/N: Imagine my surprise when I got on ff and saw that I had been tagged in a challenge. I'm not going to lie; this was a little hard for me. And I kind of cheated; if the song went off before I was finished with a thought, I went ahead and finished the thought.

I tag phoebe p., juliasfish, and vengeful. I can't think of anyone else to tag that hasn't already been tagged. And, actually, I'm not sure if the three I mentioned have been tagged already or not. If they have, sorry 'bout that.

Disclaimer: That's right.

OOOOOOOO

**Having a Party - Sam Cooke**

Everything was ready. The refrigerator was filled with liquor and soda; Derek had hooked his computer up to the big speakers his father had bought him last Christmas, and all the valuables had been removed from the living room and placed upstairs.

"I still say this isn't a good idea," Casey said, as she hid one more vase in the games' closet.

Derek rolled his eyes. "Surprise, surprise."

"I'm just saying—

"Please," he cut in, "could you try not to be a killjoy for at least one night, Princess."

"Sure," she supplied, readily.

"Really?" Derek was skeptical; nothing was ever this easy with Casey.

"Really," she assured him. "There's just one condition." Derek groaned, but she continued anyway. "I get the first dance."

"Huh?"

Ignoring his confused face, Casey selected a random song from his computer and then stood before him. She knew that once everyone else got there they'd have to keep up with their "we hate each other" act, but right then, for a couple of minutes, they didn't have to pretend.

OOOO

**When a Man Loves a Woman - Percy Sledge**

"If you loved me, Derek, you'd do it."

Derek glanced furtively around the hallway, searching for an escape route, but didn't see a single way out. He was stuck. Stuck with a weepy Casey in the middle of his school's hallway. Stuck trying to convince her that just because he didn't want the whole school to know his business, it didn't mean that he didn't love her.

"I know how you feel about PDA, and I'm not even asking for all that," she told him, sounding ready to cry. "But would it kill you to at least act like you give a damn."

Their conversation was going nowhere. Fast. So, Derek just started walking. And, almost grudgingly Casey followed—they weren't done yet.

"Hey, Venturi," a voice she didn't recognize called from the sidelines, "watch out. Klutzilla's behind you and she looks pissed."

Without a word, or any sign that he cared about the comment one way or another, Derek walked over to the spectator and punched him in the face, sending him crashing to the floor.

"If you're gonna insult my girlfriend," Derek said, glancing down at the guy, "at least come up with something better than that."

OOOO

**Tell Him - The Exciters**

"I'm gonna loose him, Emily," Casey whined into her pillow.

"No, you're not," Emily responded for what felt like the fiftieth time.

"Yes, I am."

Casey wasn't being overdramatic; that's what she truly believed. It had been all work with her lately, and Derek was fed up. Actually, that's just what he told her, before he slammed out of the house three hours earlier. And, for three hours, he hadn't called; he hadn't texted. And Casey had the awful feeling that this was the end.

"No, you're not," Emily repeated, firmly. "You just have to tell him."

Casey turned from her pillow, a puzzled look marring her features. "Tell him what?"

"Tell him that you're never gonna leave him; tell him that you're always gonna love him. And, most importantly, you have to tell him right now."

"Now?"

Emily tossed her car keys to Casey. "Right now."

OOOO

**Toy Soldiers - Martika**

"What did I do wrong?" Emily asked, somewhat desperately.

She was crying now, and Derek almost called the whole thing off. But he knew he couldn't do it—couldn't do _this_. Couldn't do _them_ anymore. He deserved to be happy, and, well, Emily deserved the truth. No matter how bad it hurt her.

"I didn't ever want it to go this far," he told her. "It was never my intention to mislead you. Hell, when I asked you out that first time, it was because I wanted to; it was because I wanted you."

"But not anymore, huh?" she yelled.

He shook his head. "Not anymore." Sighing he said, "I just don't love you anymore."

His words were soft, but they were still brutal, and they cut through Emily's heart like a knife.

"Fine," she said, her voice full of anger and bitterness. "But, mark my words, one day flaky ass Casey is going to wake up and not want you anymore. Just like she didn't want Sam; just like she didn't want Max. You think you'll be happy now that you've gotten rid of me?" She asked, and then shook her head, laughing. "You're going to be miserable; one day, you'll be the one who's down." She sounded almost happy at the thought. "I just hope I'm there to see it."

OOOO

**Let's Do It Again - The Staple Singers**

It was the sound of the rain beating against her roof that woke her up. And for a minute, as groggy and disoriented as she was from the alcohol she'd consumed the evening before, Casey wasn't sure where she was or what had happened.

But, when she looked at Derek, who was still fast asleep next to her, it all came rushing back. The shots of vodka… and the sex. The ridiculous fighting… and the sex. The midnight snack… and then more sex.

It was all there in her mind: she'd had sex with Derek, over and over again. She should've been panicking, or running out the room, or flipping through the phonebook in search of a local therapist.

But all she did was tap him on the shoulder, before whispering in his ear, "Let's do it again."

OOOO

**Song Cry - Jay Z**

Casey was listening with rapt attention from her hiding place. Derek was all about fast and frantic rock songs; he hated ballads. _So why is he playing one now? _

She'd never heard the song before; but, God, it was one of the saddest things she'd ever heard. Forget that the lyrics were depressing as hell, but the way Derek was playing his guitar was making it sound like the instrument was moaning with misery.

She was impressed—he sounded so good, and for a split second she thought about going to tell him that. But they weren't in the "compliment stage" anymore. The nice words had gone out the window the moment their relationship had.

Deciding to get in one last petty dig before dinner, Casey pushed into his room.

"Well, that sucked, as usual," she told him, lip curled. "What's the deal anyway? I thought you were too 'cool,'" she used air quotes, "for ballads."

It was silent for a moment, and when he finally looked up at her, she sucked in a breath at the naked emotion that lay in his eyes.

"I couldn't see them coming down from eyes, so I had to make the song cry," he told her, softly.

OOOO

**To Zion - Lauryn Hill**

Casey touched her growing stomach, and for a minute it was just her and her baby. She couldn't hear her mother's words of "wasted potential" and "wasted talent". Her father's mumblings of "losing his little girl" were just an echo in the back of her mind. And, for a moment, she was at peace.

She didn't need a career like her mother or a lot of money like her father to be happy. All she needed was her baby.

He or she would be the joy in her life.

OOOO

**Love You Down - Ready For the World**

"Sometimes I wonder what you see in me," Casey whispered as they lay in bed. They'd been together for a while now, but she couldn't help but be insecure. After all, he was Derek Venturi, and, well, she was Klutzilla.

"What do I see in you?" he repeated, incredulous. "Not this again." Derek rolled his eyes. His girl had the silly habit of trying to push him away from her and towards girls in his own clique.

"Look," he told her. "It never really mattered to me that you were a klutz or a grade grubber, and it still doesn't matter. All that matters is that you're my girl, princess."

"Really?" She sounded hopeful.

"Yup," he assured her. "Besides," he said, pulling her so that she was on top of him, "you can do _anything_," there was a world of implications in that one word, "that girls in my clique can do."

OOOO

**Dawn (Go Away) - The Four Seasons**

"Why can't you take a hint?" He asked, before pushing past her and going into his room.

He slammed the door in her face, but she barged right in anyway.

"Why are you pushing me away, Derek?" she countered, voice full of anger and confusion. Yesterday they were fine; today he was acting like he hated her.

"Don't you get it?" He'd had a sort of epiphany last night, and now he _definitely_ got it. "I'm no good for you." She started to interrupt, but he held up a hand. "Just think about it a minute. Think about what our family would say. Hell, think about what you're throwing away with Sam. Just think, Casey."

And she did think about it for a minute. She thought about all the consequences and the repercussions of their relationship. She thought about how hard it would be, but all she could say was, "I don't care." She shrugged. "I want you."

OOOO

**Goody, Goody - Frankie Lymon and the Teenagers**

Emily rubbed her hands together gleefully. She'd been waiting on this day for months, and it was every bit as wonderful as she had imagined it would be.

Casey had finally broken up with Derek, and she'd done it in the most public and callous way as possible. To Emily, it felt like Christmas had come early.

"Hey, Derek," Emily greeted happily, as he walked, shamefaced, by her locker. "You had it coming to you," she told him, frankly. Good for Casey." She patted herself on the back, and then added, "Hell, good for me."

"I'm glad you're enjoying this," he bit out, looking like he wanted to physically remove the grin from her face.

"Me too," she agreed, as if she didn't know he was being sarcastic. "And to think," She paused, sporting one of the most vindictive smiles he'd ever seen, "I almost stayed home today."

The End

A/N: I don't know how I feel about any of these, but I had fun writing them. Let me know what you thought. Oh, some of them do contain actual lyrics.


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